The Prince and The Fox
by Luv Angel
Summary: Can love end centuries of misery just like that? I dun believe it! Can it actually be done?
1. Crap Beggining

Oh elo peps! :) just re-editing this fic… this is quit an old ficciy I kept in the toilet bowl…her her. Some might have read it… but wat the heck. I'm just posting it anyway :p my grammar suck. But so long as I get the point across, it's ok right? Hehhe oh… gomen.. gomen… continue on with the fic *bow*  
  
  
  
The Prince And The Fox   
  
Chapter 1  
  
Once there lived a king named Gori…er I mean Akagi Tawanori who had seven handsome, adopted from birth sons. The eldest was Kogure, the most understanding of all the brothers and had always gave them full support. The perfect role model for an admirable prince and of course 'aniki'.  
  
   
  
Next there was the ever-cheerful Sendoh who liked to tease and torment people especially his youngest brother, Hanamichi. Albeit he liked to evoke chaos among the siblings he was actually pretty harmless and cared deeply for each of them.  
  
   
  
"Hana kun!!! Where are you hiding!!" Sendoh lovingly called for his youngest brother with a mischievous smile plastered on his face.  
  
   
  
Then we have Mitsui, the most serious of all the siblings. He took things acutely and handled himself well though at times he did reveal his tender side to Kogure. There was something about him and this thing called pride though the truth was his past made him acted that way.  
  
   
  
"Baka Sendoh! I'm trying to sleep here!!!," Mitsui grumbled in a low tone, concurrently pulling the soft pillow to cover up his ears.  
  
   
  
The forth son was Fujima, the one who possessed a pair of mesmerizing eyes and claimed to be the descendant of the Greek divinity due to his good looks. He was born with female qualities. Many royal bloods from other kingdoms tried to seduce him due to his looks. Some of them mistook him as a princess in man's attire. Tough luck.  
  
   
  
" How dare you…*mumble*…call me ungraceful!!…*Tossing around wildly* I'm the most handsome guy in the land *mumble* *mumble* " Fujima was having one of his dreams again.  
  
   
  
Next in line was Kiyota or better known as Royal Monkey the 2nd. His favorite pastime was to either brag about his superiority in front of his brothers and subjects or harassed Hanamichi if not being harassed himself.  
  
   
  
"That stupid Red hair monkey!! I'm gonna get him for this!!" Kiyota Cursed in front of the mirror after looking at his face, which was scribbled with a goatee, pointed eyelashes, and a pair of circles around his eyes. He grudgingly held onto what seemed to be a piece of charcoal that he found lying on the floor.  
  
   
  
Then there was Yohei, calm as can be but no one knew what was lurking under that nonchalant façade he wore. He was overly protective of his brothers and absolutely disliked to be ordered around. Name me one spoil prince who likes to be ordered around!  
  
   
  
Lastly, there was Hanamichi, the youngest of all the seven princes. He has fiery red hair and one couldn't possibly miss it if they were to see the prince. They called him Royal Monkey the 1st next to Kiyota owing to his loud, impudent and arrogant 'Tensai' behavior. Those were the visible qualities, common people saw in the prince but not his siblings. Well maybe some of his siblings. Once you get to know him better, he was actually a warm, easy going, loyal person and can be understanding if given a chance.  
  
   
  
Hanamichi with a very pissed off expression on his face, all the while running away to avoid Sendoh, "Sick! Sick! Sick! I'm gonna slaughter that Akira!!"  
  
   
  
Hanamichi liked to play basketball in their Royal court since he was just a little kid. Sometimes, either Sendoh or Kiyota would accompany him in a dual match. (Chi: I dunno how the heck basketball existed in this centuary... but who cares? :p) The other would occasionally play with him. He swore to himself that he would wed whoever managed to defeat him in a one on one match other than his siblings. (Chi: You're not into incest are you Hana kun? *smirk* Hana: Why you!! *) He didn't announce it of course.  
  
   
  
Playing with Sendoh was quite a challenge. Each time they played, Hana would end up loosing though he stubbornly denied it. Hana would either pretend that he was giving Sendoh a chance to beat him or picked up a fight with his brother after he accused Sendoh of making some intentional faults. Being the older ones, Sendoh just played along with his brother nonsensical act and kept smiling all the time. The same thing happened with Kiyota as his opponent. Since both were equally obstinate, none of em' gave the other a chance.  
  
   
  
So far, none of the villagers surpasses his talent. (Hana: No one beats Tensai!! Angel: You must be joking!) Some of them were scared when Hanamichi invited them to play with him and thus let him win every time. (Angel: I knew it! There're all scared!! Hana: Hey!) They surely didn't want to evoke his wrath. Winning is a great thing but if you win every time without any challenge is darn boring!  
  
   
  
One tedious day, Hanamichi decided to take a stroll in the vicinity of his father's castle. He was fed up with his life. There wasn't anything that he could do other than facing incompetent opponents each day. His brothers were of no help either. Kogure, his eldest brother keeps reminding him about his responsibilities as a prince.  
  
   
  
"Han kun! You can't keep on doing this! You must learn how to control your temper…bla…bla…bla…ruin father's reputation…bla…brain damage…bla…bla….Stop struggling!!" Kogure held Hanamichi by the waist to prevent him from beating the poor stable boy who refused to play ball with him.  
  
   
  
He just didn't like burdens! It doesn't suit him. He was young and was supposed to enjoy life but being coped up in the castle all day long wasn't his idea of having fun. He was tired of his life and there for settled on to seek for a little adventure on his own.  
  
   
  
'I swear I'll die out of boredom if I don't leave now!!' Hanamichi thought silently.  
  
   
  
There was a dense forest filled with humongous trees and a diversity of flora and fauna near the castle. Not many people have the backbone to go off wondering alone in the solid woods because they were afraid of loosing their way. Rumors said that those who went never seemed to find their way home. Being the brave prince he was, Hana snuck his way out of the castle to determine his fate.  
  
   
  
"Baka! Those guards didn't even recognize me! He he he! The Tensai always gets away with problem." A very happy Hanamichi proclaimed suddenly in front of the castle's entrance with his hands akimbo. He disguised himself as the kingdoms stable boy, clad in only a shredded piece of clothing and a ragged cloak to cover up his face. The sudden proclamation from the prince caused his cloak to accidentally slip down and thus revealed his appearance much to the guards' horror.  
  
   
  
"Hey! It's Prince Hanamichi!!" Said one of the soldiers.  
  
   
  
"Huh? Wh…where?"  
  
   
  
"It is he!! Catch him or King Gori (Akagi: I recent that!!) will have our heads!" Shouted another soldier.  
  
   
  
"Eh?" Hanamichi eyes seemed to be popping out of their sockets. Not wanting to get caught, he fled for his life with a bunch of guard pursuing him from behind. 


	2. The Past...

yours insanely,  
  
Angel  
  
Hana: that is suppose to be at the bottom, baka!  
  
Angel: ano… *scratch head* whose bottom? *grin*  
  
Hana: *face faulted*  
  
  
  
The Prince And The Fox  
  
[pic]  
  
Chapter 2  
  
::: About a decade ago:::  
  
   
  
The scene travelled back to some cryptic place somewhere deep in the forest where there were other living things unknown to humans. The place was deserted, there was no verdant surrounding, and everything seemed dead and abandoned.  
  
   
  
Dead carcasses, destroyed mountains, forsaken houses they were everywhere. There was civilization once but after The catastrophe, the one that was so horrible, no one dared to look back. It almost destroyed everything and everyone! They fled away. Some of them died in their effort of freedom because they were not helping each other to overcome the fear. Too anxious, too scared to even fight back. The enemy was brutally high-speed! The only resolution left was to run away as far as they could and never to return. Most of the victims were alas innocent children.  
  
   
  
The assailants called themselves The 'Hunter', a group of rabid, relentless souls snatchers who fed on the souls of were-foxes.  
  
   
  
During that intense chaos, one particular, pregnant young women with long, raven hair was also involved. She was weak and failed to use her powers to protect her young ones. She could only shield herself and the unborn soul in her by turning invisible.  
  
   
  
How she scorned herself for not nurturing her children with the invisibility skill earlier. She wasn't expecting an ambush so suddenly. None of them were! She was of warriors' blood but even so, she was still a frail, helpless mother. In this kind of situation, any typical, loving mother would have bluntly sacrifice themselves for the sake of their young ones but not this one. She would gladly do so but it would meant that the child in her will also be put at stake.  
  
   
  
'Forgive me my sons. If I interfere, I'll die and so will your brother', she hugged her unborn child protectively and continued to fled into the darkness of the woods, leaving behind her young ones. A few drops of translucent pearl, oozing out from her eyes.  
  
'Forgive me……'  
  
Later on, she gradually transformed into a black fox and sped off in full speed. Transformation and special skills usually burns up lots of energy, especially when one is young or too weak to contain the outflow of energy. The result will be fatal. With her expectant condition, the transformation would not only leak her energy but also the child within. This knowledge wasn't alien to her, so after a few miles of running she transformed back into human, only to succumb into a state of utter exhaustion.  
  
From afar, amidst all the chaos and bloodbath, she could faintly detect the aura of her two sons. She cried, blamed herself for not being able to saving them but then she regained her faith. She swore that the unborn child in her would one day seek revenge for what the monsters had done.  
  
   
  
"I'll avenge them! I will!! I swear!!" She absently kneaded her belly.  
  
  
  
Angel: ahhh… finish already?? 0_o  
  
Angel: *nod* *nod* owari… owari..finito… ano.. this chapter I mean.. hehe 


	3. Chaos Village

Angel: hmm… I guess I can upload this chap. Not much editing in this one… muwahha :p og silly me… I must go find the other chapters in the toilet bowl soon!! *laugh like a maniac angel* *leaps on top of Hana-kun and begins to pluck his Red Hair mercilessly* killer!!!!! killer!!!  
  
Hana: Itaiiiiiiii!!!!!!!! Get off you little psycho!! *trying very hard to get the glued angel off his shoulders but to no avail*  
  
Angel: *cackles*  
  
  
  
The Prince And The Fox  
  
Chapter 3  
  
::: Back at present time :::  
  
"Eh?" Hanamichi eyes seemed to be popping out of their sockets. Not wanting to get caught, he fled for his life with a bunch of guards tailing him. Hana ran like there was no tomorrow.  
  
   
  
" *pant* huh…*pant* huh…" Hanamichi stopped running when he saw no sign of the guards. Years of practicing basketball seems to be paying off. After he regained his composure, his breathing became even and he just noticed that he had approached the town village. He rarely got the chance to wonder around the town environs when he was still cooped up in the castle. So this is one opportunity he wouldn't miss…  
  
   
  
"Ah, It's Prince Hanamichi!!" Someone shouted out of the blue.  
  
   
  
Maybe not…  
  
The villagers stopped briefly what they were doing to witness what the commotion was all about. They never actually met the prince in person but since Hanamichi was famous for his bloodshot hair. Most of them were gawking at the prince. An old lady was seen to stop momentarily in front of a fishmonger stall with a limping fish in her hands. A barber unintentionally shaved a clear path in the middle of his clients' head.  
  
   
  
"Hey, watch it!!" The man brushed off the hair that had fallen onto the bridge of his nose, careful not to let it slip into his eyes. The man then ran his hand on his head to discover a very smooth pathway.  
  
   
  
"Oh, my God!!!! What have you done to my hair!!!"  
  
   
  
A man, pretending to be blind, sitting at the corner of the busy market just had to open his eyelids due to the abrupt silence around him. A group of kids were gazing at the incident with large eyes. They practically stopped playing and blink a few times.  
  
   
  
"What…where…why is everyone so quiet?" The not-exactly-blind man turned his head from side to side to figure out what was going on. The crowds were blocking his view.  
  
   
  
"Uh…hey, get your butt off of my face!!" The not-exactly-blind man shrieked.  
  
   
  
"P…P…Prince Hanamichi?" Someone dared himself or herself to speak.  
  
   
  
"It's the 'Monkey' prince!!" Proclaimed another bluntly with incredulous tone.  
  
   
  
'Huh? Monkey prince?' Hana mentally processed the information and eventually his mind recognized it as an insult. (Angel: You're so slow Hana! :P ho ho)  
  
   
  
Hanamichi sharp earshot caught the person addressing him as 'Monkey'. He spun himself around, with a very crossed expression to search for the source, totally ignoring the tailing soldiers. After all, they were still far away. His speed was amazingly fast that none could catch up with him.  
  
   
  
--------------------------------------------------------  
  
::: At a distance :::  
  
   
  
"Are you …*pant*…sure he went this way?" The head soldier questioned his men. He was all puffed and perspiring.  
  
   
  
"I don't know captain, I thought his Highness went THIS way!" One of the soldiers confidently pointed out to the opposite direction.  
  
   
  
"No! He went this way!" Another soldier with a bow in his hands lifted his chin up and pursed his lips to point straight ahead.  
  
   
  
A soldier who was sprawled on the dirt ground with his thumb pointed skyward, weakly said, "Um…I think he went that way"  
  
   
  
All the others, " …*sweat drop*…" 


	4. The Poor Lad

Angel: Oh man! I'm through being an Angel… wat say I trasform into a devil or witch instead? (Too much of the dark faerie aka neopets could do a lot of damage!!!) Oh btw, if you're interested in playin' neopets… just cut and paste this url k ;p (http://www.neopets.com/refer.phtml?username=lavangell)  
  
Hana: Advantage is good… Tensai agree  
  
Angel: Oh shut up….  
  
  
  
The Prince And The Fox  
  
Chapter 4  
  
::: Back at the village :::  
  
   
  
"Who dare called the Tensai a Monkey!! Show yourself!!" Hana demanded sternly.  
  
   
  
He squeezed himself among the crowds. Not exactly hard to wade it coz' they respectfully gave way to him and finally directed him to the scared, crouching man. The man covered his head tightly with his trembling hands, silently regretted what he just said. The people around him were staring at his every move, like he was some kind of a new addition to the human species.  
  
   
  
A boy pulled on his mother's sleeve and whispered excitedly," Momma! Momma! Is he really the 'Monkey' prince you were talking about?!"  
  
   
  
Hanamichi heard that, he quickly spun around, ignoring the frightened man in front of him.. His burning eyes focused on the small boy. If it weren't for his mother standing behind him, the threatening gaze would have shoved the boy backward, right to the wall.  
  
   
  
Then suddenly, "There he is! Catch him men!!" Hanagata said loudly, pointing his fingers at Hanamichi who was ready to strangle the poor boy but stopped in mid air (still holding the poor boy by the color *chuckles*).  
  
--------------------------------------------------------  
  
In the meantime…  
  
A young lad sauntered along the narrow, winding road once in a while booting small pebbles that disturbed his passageway. The area was secluded and quiet accept for the occasional travellers. He didn't seem to look at all worried or cared about what sort of hazard might come. Even if they were to come, let them. His eyes sustained the looked of a dead person, a living mummy like those whom haven't eaten for days and haven't gotten enough shuteye. His head was slightly askance in a deadbeat manner.  
  
'food… food… water…. Water…' He kept chanting in his fatigue state.  
  
If you look closer, you will see a couple of bags forming under his eyes. He practically forced himself to walk. Dragging every ounce of his being as far as the all in feet could manage. Do you know how it feels to be utterly languid, aimless without knowing what to do next? That was how he felt, completely at sea in his mind and limping physically. His chin was slightly dusted with unshaved whiskers, enlightening his hobo-like appearances and making him looked older than his current age. He was just an adolescent with the experience of an adult. (Angel: Hobo! Hobo! Hobo! :D )  
  
He was tall, dark skinned, and kind of willowy if seen at the right angle; built with broad shoulders due to his massive, daily routine as a freebooter, make that ex-freebooter! Hefted a lot of heavy stolen goods in the old days, enough for him to attain a stout, six pack abdomens, not too bulky and not too skinny, just the perfect size. He walked the earth as commoners from then on, dressed as commoners and thus he swore he should live as one too. Fighting, stealing and killing were his life but not anymore.  
  
He had had enough of slaughtering people, killing the innocents! What did he gain from all of that? He gained nothing but a savage mind and a whole stack of severe misery and guilt. It was more than enough to last him for centuries of self-blaming. The haunted memories, spine tingling echoes from his victim's shriek, constantly lingered his mind in broad daylight if not via nightmares. A wise choice that he has decided to quit his freebooting job before the eleventh hour. What an escapade...it was. Well...he didn't actually QUIT the job; he fled and decided never to return to the sea ever again for fear of being caught by his former ship mates.  
  
"I really need a shelter." He murmured miserably between clench teeth, wiping his dripping sweats atop of his forehead, still walking pointlessly. The sunray was like assaulting his exposed, dried skin with tiny pins and it really started to get painful. He grimaced. "...and a good bath!!" He sniffed his armpits and grimaced. "God, I stink!"  
  
"I should get a job or something." He thought out loud then delved a hand into his pocket. "These coins are all I have!!" He flipped the rug sack a few times. "Stupid, I should have pilfered some pocket money from the ship!" He chided himself. Alluring images of dancing chickens manifested themselves in his mind. He was practically drooling and absent-mindedly tossed the sack again but this time it landed on solid ground. Opss...he missed. *sigh*  
  
The young lad bent down lazily, intending to scope up his fallen item in one smooth motion but then suddenly...  
  
--------------------------------------------------------  
  
Back to Prince Hanamichi…   
  
"There he is! Catch him men!!"  
  
Hanamichi's eyes poped out. He started running, ignoring the awe struck villagers. Hanamichi promptly dropped his shredded cloak to make it easier for him to flee.  
  
   
  
"*Sigh* I didn't know the rag was so heavy!" Hanamichi mumbled under his breath while frantically working his feet as fast as he could.  
  
   
  
"Gang way!! The Tensai is having a special parade here!!"  
  
   
  
He occasionally looked behind his back towards the soldiers until suddenly he collided with some guy who was back facing him. The guy was bent down to pick up his already fallen silver coins.  
  
"Wahhhh!! Uuuff!" They collided as soon as the guy straightened himself up. Prince Hanamichi was about to turn his head back to its original position when 'Bam!!',  
  
   
  
Hanamichi lost his footing and fell down with his face kissing the ground; his hands and feet were sprawled widely and the poor guy was sent tumbling a few good meters ahead of Hanamichi with his head stuck in a pool of mud. His silver coins were scattered all over the place. The guy's hands were wildly trembling, trying his hardest to pull himself out of the mud. (Angel: Ho Ho Ho What a mess! :p Hana: YOU wrote it!!)  
  
"Itai!! Curse the land!" Hanamichi quickly got back up and started off running ignoring the pain and the fact that one of his warned out shoes was left behind. He headed for THE forest. 


	5. Karmic Revenge

Hana: Ahh! Domo Domo…. Tina, Jade and Hami for ur reviews! I really appreciate it!! Hehehe muwahhaha… *started going crazy at the back ground*  
  
Akira: Is she always like this Hana-kun?  
  
Hana: Tame! Dun call me Hana-kun! And yes, she's always like that *sigh*  
  
  
  
The Prince And The Fox  
  
chapter 5  
  
::: Another dimension or watever :::  
  
A couple of youthful looking creatures with invisible, solitary horn on each of their foreheads, shining hair cascading down pass their buttocks and clad in an oversized, black attire were strolling casually among the human crowds. As soon as they were out of sight, one of them, which was the tallest held up both his hands in the air and his partner follow suit. Swirls of wind coming out of nowhere. They disappeared within that surge of wind itself and a second later reappeared in a huge, spacious place surrounded by all kind of bottles fill with magic potion, antic spell books and undisturbed dusty shelves.  
  
"Spell untied, Spell release! Kahmut Dakhmut Shrakh Kabikh Markhmuth!" With that said, a spherical, bright light materialized in front of Gaika. (Angel: Wat the heck was that language?… hmm… I dunno… seems like Egyptian or maybe it's a bit arabic… hehe. Dun mind me! It's Yugiohs' fault!! :p)  
  
The blinding light gradually disappeared and being replaced by what seemed to be a blue, flouting crystal ball. It showed nothing but Gaika's reflection, which is slightly crock. His loyal disciple, of the Kitsune clan just stood there beside him, observing his every move intently, never once averting his eyes.  
  
"Listen Kaede, this boy..." Gaika pointed out to his blue crystal ball. "This young man here..." Seeing that Rukawa was too far from him. "Come closer and observe Kaede!" Rukawa hesitated for a split second.  
  
"Hai, sensei!"  
  
"Do you not see him?"  
  
"Hai, I see him clearly." Rukawa said impassively.  
  
Immune by his disciple's lack of enthusiasm, Gaika continued on explaining. "In his previous karmic, he was the offspring of one of those relentless assassins from the Hunter clan." Gaika stated matter of factly. "No matter how many times he his reincarnated, a Hunter's blood will always dwell inside of him, as of us! He's a remnant and therefore his existence is a thread to our clan! " (Note: Just imagine that all the other Hunters had been sealed and can't be reincarnated ever again..! as of all those were- foxes whom souls were eaten)  
  
"…"  
  
"He might not remember what his ancestors did to our clan, brutally massacred all the innocents and the weak but in time he will gradually learn of his purpose, the killers' blood in him will soon be awakened and it will hunger for our souls. Before that time comes we must seal his soul for good!"  
  
"..." Rukawa's blue orbs steadily dilating, never once averted his eyes from the tiny vision in the crystal ball. He has a new target, which was for sure. Rukawa's eyes were trained on the images before him, never once he attempted to avert it. He kept watching as the youth with vermilion top made his way passed the boundary of the thick forest with a bunch of humans tailing him.  
  
But the other humans halted before they reached the frontier, isolating the clear land and the thick forest. One human, whom Rukawa assumed to be the leader of the armored bunch raised up his hand, signaling for his troop to stop. A touch of terror danced on each of their faces after witnessing their beloved prince's disappeared into the forest.  
  
"Prince Hanamichi!! Come back your highness!!" Hanagata, the leader of the bunch strained his voice.  
  
"No!! Don't go! Please return your majesty!" Another soldier seconded.  
  
"It's dangerous!" Yet another worried voice shrieked.  
  
They did nothing but to pace anxiously before the woods and squealed for the red head to come back. They went on and on but were greeted by air. That was 'the' forest, which devoured anyone who touched its sacred ground. Whomever or Whatever harboured in it was a poser. Those who got in would never come out unless a miracle was to happen.  
  
Rukawa watched as the youth scrambled to get away, occasionally he would fell and pushed himself up and started wading the jungle again, with incredible speed. 'Do'aho'  
  
His face coated with a thin layer of mud, making it a bit vague for Rukawa to recognize his face and his once clean attire was ragged or smeared with sludge. The overgrown, untamed weed and wild flower weren't making it easier for him either. They tore his cloth bit by bit and at one time his right sleeve was stuck to a small branch, which was sticking out of some bushes. The red head was in such a hurry that he pulled onto his sleeve abrasively, which caused it to detach from the main cloth.  
  
'Okaasan... Aniki... I will eliminate the last of their kind soon! Soon….' Rukawa silently clutched the silver pendant on his chest, feeling its rough texture abrading his skin, reminiscing the past. 


End file.
